Who needs the First Lady when you've got an American Idol on your side? Michelle Obama may be upset about her image used in a current People For The Ethical Treatment of Animals campaign ("Fur-Free And Fabulous"), but Carrie Underwood doesn't seem to have any objections about the same treatment.
In fact, it's rather fascinating that this country lass is one of the goalposts of this campaign (Oprah Winfrey and Tyra Banks round out the lineup). She hails from Checotah, Oklahoma, which bills itself as the "Steerwrestling Capitol of the World." Oklahoma as a state overall, dare I be stereotypical, calls up particularly un-PETA-friendly images related to rodeos and meat consumption.
And, heck, let me be really stereotypical and note that the genre of country music does not have a reputation for attracting vegan fans (you can visit Blake Shelton's Twitter page for some humorous commentary on this very subject, if you don't believe me--PETA-related jokes are a regular part of his repertoire).
Yet Carrie--a vegetarian since she was a young teen--has been quite a steadfast advocate for PETA, holding their fan-voted title of "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" in 2005 and 2007, and granting interviews discussing her love of animals (additionally, she's done PSAs for the Humane Society). She also famously wore a "V is for Vegetarian" shirt on American Idol.
She's not the only country representative in the PETA files, either--Shania Twain was the inaugural "Sexiest Vegetarian" in 2001, as was Carrie's fellow Idol alum Kellie Pickler in 2009.
So, given all this...my opinion of the PETA/Obama controversy? If I were the PETA powers-that-be, I'd leave D.C. in the dust and go full-force in the red-state direction. I'd play up the fact that a bona fide cowgirl isn't ashamed to bite into a veggie burger, ditch fur for fashion, and possibly face ridicule from Blake Shelton!
Go on with your green self, Carrie, I think your anti-fur ad is pretty cool.
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